Gunnery Sgt. Albert Roman shares a hug with Louis Vagliardo. The North End Train was dedicated in memory of Vagliardo's son, Jason. (ERIC JENKS/For The Saratogian)

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Christmas came early this year for more than 100 local kids in need of winter gear and gifts when the Toys for Tots holiday train made its annual stop in the Spa City.

Decked out in colored banners and flags, the train rolled into the Amtrak station off of West Avenue at about 10 a.m. Sunday as cheers erupted from the crowd of parents and children who bundled up and braved the cold temperatures as they waited near the rails.

The train stopped for 30 minutes while Santa, Mrs. Claus, Marine reservists and volunteers handed out toys, cookies and warm winter clothing to about 150 children. Barbies, Power Rangers, Polly Pocket dolls and Beanie Babies were among the booty distributed.

Anthony Coon, 14, took home a four-pack of Rubik's cube-like brain puzzles.

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"This will take me the rest of my life to figure out," he joked.

A student at Maple Avenue Middle School, Coon said it was his second year receiving a present from Toys for Tots.

"There's a lot of kids that don't have toys and now they can have some," he said. "Everybody's happy."

Keith Wilson, of Saratoga, showed up with his wife, Regina, and their two children, Logan, 2, and Sara, 4.

While his kids clutched their new toys, Wilson sought out a train volunteer who brought him two new child-sized snow jackets, one pink and one blue.

"This is the first year we ever did it. I think it's excellent," Wilson said of the Toys for Tots train. "We're kind of in a recession and it's nice to know someone can do this for us."

Each year, the train is dedicated to a local person or people who have died. A moment of silence was observed for Jason Vagliardo, David R. White II and Jeffrey McClements, before family members stepped up to receive memorial banners.

Saratoga was the second stop of the day for the train, which started its journey along the Canadian Pacific Railway early Sunday morning in Mechanicville.

"There was a lot of giving as well as receiving," said Marine Gunnery Sgt. Albert Roman, the Albany-area coordinator of Toys for Tots.

When the train stopped to deliver gifts in Mechanicville, he said, some individuals were there to donate more toys back to the train to be distributed in other towns.

By the day's end, the train made stops in Whitehall, Port Henry, Port Kent and Plattsburgh. On Saturday, the train completed the first leg of its annual weekend-long journey, delivering gifts to needy children between Binghamton and Delanson. All told, about 30,000 children were expected to receive a gift from the train over the course of the weekend.

Nonprofit organizations in each community, including the Saratoga County Department of Social Services, also receive toys off the train to distribute locally.

The toy drive received a boost this year from a $20,000 donation made by Dunkin' Donuts.

"We are grateful beyond words for the support that Dunkin' Donuts and their franchisees have provided us to keep our holiday train on track this season," Roman said.

In his first year as coordinator, Roman was faced with a $30,000 budget shortfall after losing a longtime Wall Street sponsor to the economic crisis. The donation from the national doughnut and coffee chain in early November provided the Toys for Tots Foundation with tens of thousands of toys, Roman said.

"The train is running on Dunkin'," he quipped.

Eric Stensland, the chain's field marketing manager for New York state, said the money was sourced from the 139 Dunkin' Donuts stores throughout the Albany area.

"We felt it was really important to step up," Stensland said.

Volunteers from Freihofer's bakery helped stock the train and handed out boxes of chocolate chip cookies. Snacks and hot beverages were provided by Roseann Hotaling of the Country Corner Café, as well as Dunkin' Donuts.

About eight officers from Glenville and the Saratoga Naval Support Unit were on hand to assist with security for the event.